The NEP-27 Qur’an manuscript was
purchased by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and
Anthropology in 1927. Since then, its beautiful colophon page has been
reproduced in many handbooks on Islamic art. The copy states that it was copied
and gilded in Hamadhan, Iran by the scribe (al- kātib) Mahmūd ibn
al-Husayn al- Kirmānī in H559/ 1164 CE. Manuscripts that have survived from
northwestern Iran of the mid-12th century are very rare, and this one is an
important example of Seljuk period book production with the illumination
practices continuing from models established in late Abbasid workshops. It is
also an interesting case of book ‘restoration’ that must be closely examined as
it points to a complex history of usage.

Mushaf dari Iran, abad ke-12.

Between the time of its copying
and its donation as waqf by Amīr Ahmad Jāwīsh (d. 1786) to the al-Azhar
Mosque in Cairo, the manuscript underwent many changes and vicissitudes. An
examination thus far reveals that there were several interventions to the
integrity of the original. Firstly, there is an interlinear commentary in red
that was later than the copying of the text itself. The greenish-gold framing
of the text is yet another stage in the life of the manuscript. At some moment,
many of the headings and sub-headings received further enhancement, or outright
reconfiguration. Even a cursory survey shows that many folios bear major
repairs, patches and replacements. Yet, even greater is the observation
that the manuscript, as we now find it, has been collapsed into one volume from
two or perhaps more. This challenge means that a careful study of every
folio must be undertaken to ascertain the integrity of the text and commentary.

The decorations of NEP 27 existed to guide readers
through their experience of the Qur’an. In addition to structuring the act
of reading, however, they also contain their own visual grammar, which
this paper will explore using a combination of traditional methodologies
and computer vision algorithms like Scale Invariant Feature Transform
(SIFT). Comparing the decoration of NEP 27 with that of other qur’ans
dated to the twelfth century reveals the extent to which the form of the
written word varied at the time of its production. The changes in style
and quality of the decorations within NEP 27 also reveal important
information about its production.

Michael Falcetano, Verse markers and Their Variations

My presentation is concerned with the minor
illuminations, primarily verse markers, in the NE-P 27 Qur’an manuscript.
Of these markers, particular attention has been focused on internal
consistency–or lack there of–and its implications for the order of the
manuscript’s production as well evidence pertaining to the number of
individuals involved in the illumination of the manuscript. The methods
underpinning this study are primarily based on an assignment of types for
each category of marker. From this, all illuminations were recorded with
particular attention having been devoted to the frequency at which they
occur, their position within the text, and any discernable consistency
therein. This study has been supplemented further through a comparison to
other Qur’an manuscripts and an attempt to situate the NE-P 27 manuscript
within the context of the development of Qur’an illumination in known
manuscripts both preceding and following the manufacture of NE-P 27.

Emily Neumeier, Competing Ideologies in the Paleography of NEP-27

Within NEP-27 there are evidently multiple calligraphic
hands, with several individuals later correcting the original main text as
well as its gloss. In this paper, I aim first to characterize the
calligraphic style of the main text while situating this calligrapher
within the context of other 12-century Seljuk manuscripts. I will then
attempt to reconstruct the later corrections and insertions into the text
during subsequent phases of repair, most likely executed in 18th-century
Egypt. By tracking the subsequent interventions imposed upon this
manuscript, this paper examines how a competition across time about the
nature of the Qur'an itself unfolds upon the pages of NEP-27.

V.K. Inman, The Text of NEP-27

This presentation will explore a few of the numerous
corrections to the original hand, and also explore the possible
significance of variant readings in NEP-27, both those which were at some
point "corrected," and those which were never
"corrected." The text of NEP-27 underwent the sort of scribal
transmission difficulties which are typical of manuscripts in general. In
its final corrected form NEP-27 most closely resembles the modern Hafs
reading but even here variant segments remain.

Elliott Brooks, NEP-27's Frontispiece and its Comparanda

The frontispiece of NEP-27 presents the question of
whether or not it is part of the original manuscript. I will give a formal
analysis of this frontispiece, as well as a comparison to other manuscript
frontispieces dated to 12th century northwestern Iran, specifically
manuscript W.557 at the Walters Art Museum and the Zanjani Qur'an at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Elias Saba, Explaining, Interpreting, and Clarifying the Qur'an: The
"Commentary" on NEP-27

The commentary found on NEP 27 appears to perform
three main tasks: explain obscure words, interpret equivocal sentences,
and clarify unclear references such as general terms and pronouns. While
the commentary certainly does accomplish this feat, it is far from
exhaustive. There are many instances in which obscure words or equivocal
sentences receive no attention while clear words and unequivocal clauses get
glossed. Additionally, this commentary is unconcerned with revealing any
sectarian, theological, or juristic affiliation. Having no parallels with
other texts in the Arabic commentary (tafsir) tradition, I argue
that this text should be understood not as a commentary but as a gloss.
Further, I argue that its value was not actually in elucidating the
Qur'anic text, but rather it functioned as a ritual element within the
framework of this manuscript of the Qur'an. These two insights--the
gloss's lack of partisan affiliation and its ritual character--should
shape our understanding and interpretation of the history of the
production and use of NEP 27.

Raha Rafii, Intersections of Design and
Epigraphy in the Colophon and Finispiece of NEP-27

The colophon of NEP-27, embedded within its finispiece,
so far remains the main source of information of the provenance and
completion date of the production of this Qur’anic manuscript, informing
us that a calligrapher, Mahmud b. al-Husayn al-Katib al-Kirmani, “wrote and
illuminated” the manuscript in the city of Hamadan in the year 559 H.
(1164 C.E.). However, an examination of the various calligraphic styles of
the colophon itself already indicates that it is the work of multiple
hands, possibly under the supervision or direction of al-Kirmani, if the
colophon is in fact contemporaneous to the Qur’anic text. Close analysis
of the colophon’s orthography yields additional clues to the connection
between the colophon and the text of the manuscript, while possible
aesthetic links between the finispiece and Iranian architecture help
clarify its cultural context.

Agnieszka Szymanska, The Mise-en-page of NEP-27

The subject of my presentation is mise-en-page of
NEP-27. I focus on the geometrical construction of the manuscript’s page
layout, which includes text, borders, margins, and decoration. The role of
mise-en-page was to create an aesthetic appearance of each page. Only one
known text, a chapter in a work by the Andalusian scholar Muhammad
al-Qalalusi (d. 1307), comprises an incomplete formula for establishing a
page layout. Therefore, principally a close examination of each page of
NEP-27 can give us insights into the manuscript’s geometric design.

Quintana Heathman, Investigating Interventions: The Papers of NEP-27

The paper on which a manuscript is written offers the
researcher an opportunity to discover the physical nature and history of
the work. This presentation seeks to examine the paper of the Penn Museum
Qur’an NEP-27 to help illuminate the life of the object. Through a
discussion of both the original paper and later repair papers, this
presentation aims to enhance our understanding of NEP-27’s initial
production, as well as its later status as a repaired and altered
manuscript. Special attention will be given to these repairs and the
imported paper associated with them, as it is through a comprehension of
these types of interventions that we can more fully understand NEP-27 and
its existence as a physical object over time. This presentation will also
discuss the particular problems of Qur’anic paper research, as well as
suggest areas for future investigation.